How To Make The Most Out Of Videos On Social Media ?
PRESS PLAY ON OPPORTUNITIES
Video content marketing is gaining popularity in the business world, and for good reason. As more and more people watch online videos, this unhinges a huge marketing potential for businesses to tap into.
Check out the first video we produced when our brand was just starting to grow!
From engaging your audience to differentiating your brand from your competitors, video marketing has the potential to yield tangible results for your business. In fact, a recent study conducted by Cisco predicts that by the year 2020, 82% of consumer Internet traffic will be video. Now you might be wondering, why are videos so valuable for marketing? Despite the misconceptions that videos are a tough medium to tackle and that it might not even be worth the trouble, the truth is video marketing yields excellent ROI by attracting and converting traffic. That’s not to say you should start churning out videos tomorrow with no real direction or plan of execution. Every video you produce needs concise, systematic planning and purpose. After all, they represent your brand, your products, and your services. Of course, it helps that videos can be pretty fun to make with the help of a web marketing company.
READ MORE: WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY
If that doesn’t convince you, think about it this way: Your competitors are probably using social video advertising for their brand. And even if they’re not, that gives you a solid opportunity to stay one step ahead of the game. So, what are you waiting for? To help you further realize the true value of this platform for promoting your brand and establishing your position among your industry, we’ve done some research on the advantages that social video marketing has and where the trend is taking us.
TOP BENEFITS OF VIDEO MARKETING
So, why should you sink your teeth and resources into the amazing world of video marketing? Here are some of the top benefits of video marketing that we will explore in greater depth later on:
1. Good for SEO
2. Provides great ROI
3. Boosts conversions
4. Encourages social shares
5. Appealing to mobile users
6. Results in high engagement
7. Builds trust, loyalty, and credibility
ENGAGE, CONNECT, CAPTURE
Did you know that Tweets with video attract 10x more engagements than those without? But that doesn’t just mean any video will do. There are effective strategies that will help you hook in your audience for more engagement potential. These include:
1. Set up the intro with an intriguing first few seconds
2. Incorporate some close-up shots
3, Spark curiosity with an on-screen graphic
4. Capture action with quick movements
5. Include captions
6. Feature real people
7. Don’t forget to flash your brand!
It’s no surprise that videos engage audiences because they appeal to the visual and auditory senses. Since vision is our lead sense, videos easily capture the eye and engage viewers making them effective at sharing your message and boosting your brand. Make your message memorable and draw people in with your story with a unified message across your video marketing strategy. Because, when it comes to branding, consistency is key.
READ MORE: OUTSOURCING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
EVOKE MORE EMOTION WITH YOUR STORY
Video marketing presents an amazing opportunity to tell your brand’s story in a compelling way that stirs emotions in an easily digestible format. The reason for this is that videos have more potential to build emotional connections with your audience, leading to stronger and longer-lasting relationships. In fact, when properly executed, using video to tell a story can hold a far greater impact on the emotions of your audience than any other marketing efforts. Videos use music, sight, sound, and play off of our memories to evoke emotional responses. This, combined with an incredible story that pulls on the heartstrings or elicits positive emotions, further helps to build a personal connection with your audience, which induces trust in your brand. Building this trust is now more important than ever, as consumers have increasingly more options and the power to choose which brands to trust with their business. There is also immense sharing potential when it comes to storytelling, particularly when that story resonates with your audience. When there’s an emotional response, people will take notice and pass your message along.
READ MORE: THE ROLE OF STORYTELLING IN CONTENT MARKETING
SHARING IS CARING!
Spark up any social media channel and what do you see? Video sharing. Without fail, effective video marketing gives you the greatest opportunity to reach maximum sharing potential for your content. If viewers tune in and like your videos, they will want to share them with their friends and followers on social media. Users are more likely to share entertaining videos that evoke emotion than a wordy post or graphic. Videos for social media marketing are a great way to get your brand front and centre, exposing your business to the public and improving your brand awareness. Ultimately, this will increase your web traffic, boost conversions, and improve sales – which let’s face it, is the entire point.
KEEP THEM EDUCATED AND CURIOUS
Videos are excellent learning tools for viewers of all ages, all over the world. By using explainer videos on your landing page or website, you can teach your audience about your industry, how to use a product, or explain a product or service. It’s easier to grasp a concept or learn how to do something with audio-visual demonstrations. Just take a look at YouTube. From learning how to hang a hammock to troubleshooting issues with your car engine, videos are a great way to educate your audience. For more complex concepts that are challenging to explain, you can implement graphic design in your videos to maintain their focus and attention on your messaging. Use animation to bring the concepts to life and get the job done effectively without the risk of losing their interest. Animation also eliminates any feelings of intimidation around these more challenging topics as it evokes a sense of familiarity and nostalgia for viewers who grew up watching animated TV shows and movies. These educational videos are also excellent forms of content to share on your social media platforms. The common theme here is to focus on building expertise, authority, and trust – so if you’ve got the material, share the knowledge!
GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS QUICKLY
We all know videos include visual representations so you can show and tell your message at the same time. When compared to text, videos convey large amounts of information quickly, so you’re essentially giving your audience more information without making them invest more of their time. This gives your business the opportunity to drive your company persona home and significantly enhance your overall message – that’s quite the advantage! Audiences often want quick, easy-to-digest content they can consume on the go – we’ve known this to be true for a while now. Many consumers won’t spend a minute of their time reading long product or service descriptions, despite wanting to see the product or service in action. Videos give your audience the information they need in a convenient, efficient way.
AUDIENCES ARE TUNED IN TO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY
Whether on YouTube or Facebook, more videos are being uploaded, watched, and shared. Each day, audiences watch an average of 5 billion videos on YouTube, 8 billion videos on Facebook (with a whopping 85% without sound), and more than 10 billion views on Snapchat. A staggering 92% of B2B prospects watch videos online. Web marketing with videos has taken off and will only gain more traction in the months to come.
CONVERSION POTENTIALS ARE INCREASED WITH VIDEO ADVERTISING
Videos can boost conversions by 80%. Prospective customers are more likely to purchase a product online after watching a video explaining the product, how it works, what it does, and other useful information. These videos not only boost their confidence in your product, but they feel more motivated to make a decision that results in a sale for you. An excellent way for you to introduce videos to your brand is by strategically including them on a landing page about the products or services you offer.
IF THEY’RE WATCHING YOUR VIDEO, THEY’RE PROBABLY ON MOBILE
If you have a video marketing strategy in place, ask yourself this – are they optimized for mobile viewers? The majority of users watch video content on their mobile devices, and mobile video consumption is only increasing each year as more people opt for smartphones. Audiences are also more likely to feel a personal connection to brands who share mobile video content. Remember, building a personal connection to your audience through the use of video marketing engages them, builds trust, and makes them more motivated to make a sale.
READ MORE: MOBILE BUSINESS AND MARKETING ARE THE NEW NORMAL
EARNING TRUST THROUGH THE SCREEN
Provide your audience with useful, interesting information to help build trust in your brand. Engaging promotional videos can also build consumer confidence in their purchases. Audiences want to watch brand-owned content and see the human side of your brand. So show them the people behind the name.
VIDEOS OFFER EXCELLENT ROI
Although videos aren’t the cheapest or easiest marketing tools, they are well worth the investment. And with the consistent advancement of technology and video editing software, video production is becoming a more accessible platform for businesses, big or small. Your audience wants a clear understanding of your brand, products, services, and vision, and videos are the best way to get these messages across in a way that is meaningful to them.
VIDEO CONTENT GETS HIGHER RANKINGS
Since videos keep visitors on your site for longer, this extended exposure tells Google and other search engines that your site has quality content. And since quality content is key for improving rankings, search engines will prioritize websites with engaging video content. Optimize video content with search engine optimization (SEO) best practices (read more about this later on). These include interesting and optimized titles and descriptions. You’ll also want to link back to your website and specific product or services pages. You can also create interactive video content. When you share videos across platforms—blogs, social media, and websites—it will be easier for your target audience to find you in search.
TYPES OF VIDEOS TO CAPITALIZE ON
So, what types of videos should you be putting out? Here are a few examples of effective video formats that are engaging to viewers
1. ROUNDUPS
Roundup videos contain lists focussing on a particular theme, for example, “The Top 5 Most Exciting Winter Activities in Ottawa” or “5 Restaurants You Must Try in the National Capital Region.” Simply put, these videos are fun, light, and easily digestible. So, make sure to keep them relatively short – 4 minutes or less – and include a mix of video clips and stills to hold onto viewers’ attention.
2. COMPANY CULTURE
Your company culture is part of what sets your brand apart from the pack. So, developing a video that showcases this culture and the team behind your brand is a great way to let people in and give customers a sense of your organization’s mission and core values.
3. BEHIND THE SCENES
People are curious by nature and love getting a glimpse behind the curtain. So, if you have exclusive insight into a process, project, or any other situation you think your customers would be interested in, consider putting together a video giving them a ‘behind the scenes’ look. This can work for both B2C and B2C companies. These types of videos are less polished than other marketing videos as they incorporate raw footage but should still effective in capturing an audience’s attention and keeping them engaged.
4. INTERVIEW
An interview video should spotlight one or two people that are familiar to your audience who they would enjoy hearing from. This could include:
1. Someone within your organization
2. An influencer
3. An industry expert
4. A known author
5. This should be simply shot and follow a basic question and answer format but use different angles and camera shots to keep the viewer interested.
5. EDUCATIONAL HOW-TO/EXPLAINER
An educational video that walks viewers through a complex process or answers a common question related to a topic your brand is an expert in is a great tool that helps build or building brand credibility and audience trust.
TIPS FOR CREATING ATTENTION-GRABBING, ENGAGING VIDEOS THAT BRING IN VIEWS
So now that you have a firm grasp on all the amazing benefits that videos offer and what types of videos to focus on, how do you make sure that your videos are effective? To start you off on the right foot, here are some tips for producing incredible video marketing content that is both effective and engaging to viewers.
10 SECONDS OR LESS
One-fifth of your viewers will click away from a video within 10 seconds or less, so it’s critical that you use this time wisely to capture their attention and get your message across. Here are some tips for getting your views attention right off the bat:
1. Find the right tone
2. Be direct and to the point
3. Leave your logo out until the end
4. Ask an interesting question at the beginning
MAKE THEM LAUGH
Being able to make viewers laugh and crack a smile is an incredibly valuable asset, as it makes them feel good while making your brand seem more relatable. Video is one of the best ways to achieve this. Whether it’s a goofy skit or a promotional video that doesn’t take itself too seriously, humour is key to making your brand stand out.
EARN TRUST THROUGH THE SCREEN
Provide your audience with useful, interesting information to help build trust in your brand. Engaging promotional videos can also build consumer confidence in their purchases. Audiences want to watch brand-owned content and see the human side of your brand. So, show them the people behind the name.
OPTIMIZE FOR SEARCH
Just like with site content, it’s important to optimize videos for search to ensure your targeted audience is actually seeing your video content. Simply put, if you’re not optimizing your video content for search, you could be missing out on a huge number of views. Follow these tips to ensure your videos are showing up in searches and your efforts aren’t going to waste:
1. Add captions
2. Focus on link building
3. Use keywords in your title
4. Have an engaging thumbnail
5. Upload to multiple platforms
6. Add a description to your video
7. Ensure the rest of your page is optimized for SEO
LAUNCH SOCIAL VIDEO ADS
According to comScore, the average user spends approximately 16 minutes and 49 seconds watching online video ads every month. That’s a lot of eyes watching video ads, making this an incredible opportunity to extend your video marketing efforts to social ads. Social video ads are a great tool because it gives you the chance to engage with and pitch to a busy executive or consumer who is specifically looking for your services but hasn’t yet had the chance to reach out directly. And they an amazing way to put your brand’s personality on display and better connect with your audience. The key is to keep your video ads short and concise, tell a compelling story, add captions so viewers can watch without sound, and include a text tagline. Here are some additional tips to ensure optimal results from video ads posted to social media:
1. Build custom audiences
2. Use in-stream ads to boost impressions
3. Retarget followers who watched your videos
4. Create content tailored to specific customer needs
5. Sequence your ads to guide customers through the sales funnel
TARGET RELEVANT AUDIENCES ON FACEBOOK
According to AdEspresso, Facebook users alone watch close to 3 billion hours of video on the platform every single day, making Facebook an incredible tool for targeted video content. You may already be familiar with targeting Facebook Ads, but when it comes to video content, you can – and should – target videos posted to social media to a select audience. Sharing highly targeted video posts is an excellent way to ensure your content is appealing to every member of your audience. Plus, this feature is also a great way to make sure that you’re always reaching the most relevant people with every post.
REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE WITH THE HELP OF ANALYTICS
Did you know that video ads have high click-through-rates? Even 15-second non-skippable YouTube ads also have high completion rates coming in at 92%. E-mail marketing campaigns that use videos also have higher click-through-rates. Video analytics on Facebook and YouTube are amazing tools as they allow you to see how well your content is performing and where you can improve. Common performance indicators include:
1. Views
2. Likes
3. Dislikes
4. Comments
5. Shares
Common performance indicators include views, likes, dislikes, comments, and shares. This data can then be used to change your social media and video marketing campaigns to better suit your target audience. All the tools you need to develop compelling content to build your brand and gain authority, trust, and expertise is at your fingertips – you just need to know how to use them! It’s clear that there is great value and a wealth of opportunity found in video marketing when executed properly. A web marketing company can help get your brand out there with compelling and effective social video marketing campaigns carefully designed with your brand and message in mind. Discover how your brand can benefit from this untapped potential with the use of an effective video marketing strategy.
View Cisco study here.
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